As soon as the administration in Islamabad issued a no-objection certificate for holding a gathering, hoards of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers started gathering to hear the address of their party chief Imran Khan via video in what is considered to be a show of power from the PTI, the Dawn reported.
PTI workers in huge numbers have reached Koral Chowk. Another rally led by PTI leader Ali Nawaz Awan and Raja Khurram has reached Rawat town in Pakistan to join the ongoing long march that has been on the road since October 28.
According to The Dawn, the permission will be valid only if the long march follows the designated route. The route will be from Koral Chowk to Chak Beli Mor in Rawat, Pakistan just for one day.
The NOC was issued by the administration in response to the application filed by PTI leader Ali Nawaz Awan. There are 35 mandatory conditions attached to the NOC. The deputy commissioner of Islamabad has informed that any deviation from the designated route will result in the cancellation of the NOC automatically.
Section 144 will be enforced in other parts of the city and the participants will not be allowed to hinder or block any road and no public or private property must be damaged during the long march, according to The Dawn.
It is also mandated that the protestors cannot carry any lethal or non-lethal weaponry like batons or bats. Another condition mandates that no one in the rally is allowed to chant slogans that are against religion, the country's regime, and the ideology of Pakistan. Security checks will be conducted on the participants to ensure security in the national capital, and in case of any violations, the applicant of the NOC for the march will be held responsible and will have to face legal action.
Previously, PTI was criticised that it conducted most of its protests around the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where it remains in power, and not in Islamabad, especially after the assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Imran Khan, The Dawn reported.
Several PTI leaders have been giving statements that are in criticism of the current government of Pakistan. PTI Secretary General Asad Umar previously had given a statement that criticized the government. In the statement he mentioned that the current leaders in the government thought that they could use their black money and conspire against the opposition in coordination with their leaders sitting in foreign lands, thinking that PTI leader Imran Khan will return back and Pakistan will watch in silence.
A similar statement came from PTI leader Imran Ismail in which he said that the appointment of the next Chief of Army Staff is given more importance when the general public is suffering, losing jobs and businesses are shutting down.
Major security measures are being taken by the defence establishment for the PTI's gathering The Dawn reported citing an Islamabad police claim about the possibility of a terrorist attack during the large gathering of the PTI members. They further added that this type of attack can disturb the situation in two major cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
To handle the crowds in case of any dispute around 14,000 officers have been deployed in Islamabad. These officers include 4,056 officials from the capital police, 4,675 rangers, 497 officials from the Sindh police along with other officials from defence forces.
The Dawn reported security personnel will be well equipped with tear gas, gas masks, rubber bullets, and pepper guns to maintain peace and discipline during the entire long march.
These security measures have been taken by the authorities in response to the previous long march route violations on May 25 this year.
( With inputs from ANI )
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